Blacking-box.



C. W. LEVALLEY.

BLAGKING BOX APPLICATION IILED Nov. 2a. 190e.

1,031,350. Patented July 2,1912.

df 16h14? cHnIsToPHER w. LE'VALLEY, or MILWAEE, wiscoNsIN.

BLACKINc-Box.

Specication 'of Letters Patent.

application 'nien November es, isos. serial No. 4154369.

To eel-Z who-m it may concern.

Be it known that I, CHmsroPnER W. LEVALIA-LY, a Acitizen 'of the UnitedStates, residing at ilwaukee, in the county of Mil'- waukee and State ofWisconsin, have invented certain new and usefal Improvements inBlacking-Boxes, of which the following is a specification. i Y

Many substances, such as paste shoe polish, have to be'kept inpractically a liermetically closed package or box, and thesey aregenerally made of metal with a closefitting cover or cap. Greatdifticulty has been experienced in removing the covers because of thefact that they fit so tightly. Resort is usually had to the use of toolsfor forcing oil' the cover by means of blows or a'prying action, withthe usual result that the cover or the box, or both, are so dis tortedas t\A make it practically impossible to ti htly Ypply the cover, if,indeed, it is possi le to out it in place upon the box at all, theresenlt being that the lsubstance contained within the package or box issubjectto-the atmospheric influences with resulting deterioration.

My invention has for its object to produce a simple but elicientmeansfor easily removing a tightly-fitting cover, and for accomplishing thiswithout distorting either the cover or the box, so that the former maybe applied again and again. f

In the accompanying drawings-Figure l is a perspective view of a.blackingbox pro vided with my invention; Fig. 2 is an inside face viewof the cover removed from the box; Fig. 3 is a view of a coverillustrating a slightly different embodiment of my invention from thatshown in Fig. 2.

In the drawings A-represents the box and B the cover, these parts beingof any usual or preferred construction. As shown, they are preferablyformed of metal, and the cover is arranged to fit closely the open endof the box. To the inside of the cover is secured a wire 2 preferably bymeans of solder, as indicated at 3. The wire may be fastened in theangle formed by the'meeting of the flange and top plate of the cover, asindicated in Fig. 2, or it may be secured nearer the middle of the topplate as represented in Fig. 3. The end of the wire is formed into aloop 4 to facilitate its manipulation. The len th of the wire is suchthat there is a consi erable ortion between the loop 4 and the place oattachment 3, this box.

portion of the wire being bent or coiled within the cover. W'hen thecover' is applied to the box the looped end of the wire is yallowed toproject out between the cover' and the bex, as represented in Fig. l.If, when thus arranged, one pulls upon the loop of the wire the coverwill be easily lifted tents; and this is done without distorting to any.practical extent either the cover or the When 1t 1s desired t o againclose the latented J lily 2, 1'9-12. l

from olf the box, thereby exposing its Ycon- I box the cover is put inplace, leaving the looped end of the wire exposed. When this is done thecover may be forced down upon the box tightly to form a practicallyairtight closure which is not practicable with boxes now commonly in usebecause of the difiiculty that is experienced in removing the cover whenpressed onto the box tightly.

l am aware that it has been proposed to employ a wire secured to theedge of the box and lying between it and the cover with one end exposedfor the purpose of removing the cover, but this arrangement, whileperhaps a successful expedient for removing the cover of the box in therst instance, is not adapted to be used again and again, as is mydevice.

By attaching the end of the wire to the cover the main portion of thewire between the attached end and the exposed loop lies beyond the edgeof the box proper, and only a short part is disposed between the flange'of the cover and the body or rim of the box. When draft is applied tothe end of the wire the latter is drawn out from within the cover andmoves around the box, or 'rather along the joint between the box andcover, thus gradually and easily lifting the cover from its seat.

I have referred to the means for lifting the box cover as being a wire,and such probably will be found to be the most prac-V tical material,but I wish it understood that any flexible article having thecharacteristic of a piece of wire are intended by me to be includedwithin the term wire, which is hereinafter used in a broad or genericsense.

W'hat I claim is:

l. The combination with a box having an open end and a cover for closingit, of a. flexible wire secured at one end to the inside of the cover ata pontlsuici'ently far from the edge thereof to be above the edge of thebox when the cover is applied, and having its f between the cover andthe box so it may be grasped, and being of a length suflicient to allowa considerable portion between its ends to lie free within the cover andbetween the joint thereof with the box and the attached end when thecover is applied, whereby the free portion of the Wire may be drawn outand at the same time carried around the box, thus loosening and removingthe cover, and permitting the cover to be applied, and removed by theuse of the wire, again and again.

2. The combination with a box and a cover therefor having a flat topplate and a the cover at a point Ain close proximity to the plane of thelower face of the top plate,

the wire being of a length sliliicient to allow a considerable freeportion between its ends to be within the cover and above the edge ofthe box when the cover is applied, the free end of the wire beingcarried out through the joint between the flange of the cover and theupper end of the box and left exposed to be grasped, substantially asand for the purposes setforth.

CHRISTOPHER W. LEVALLEY.

Witnesses:

v E. B. RATCLIFFE, GEO. B. Pl'rrs.

